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2014 Miami Gameday HQ

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Jose Abreu, Chicago White
Sox First Baseman
Seeing the 6-3, 255-pound first baseman in a White Sox uniform
hearkens back images of ChiSox Hall-of-Famer Frank Thomas knocking
homers out of Comiskey Park II. Whether this 27-year-old import from
Cuba is able to bat .300 and draw 100-plus walks annually remains to
be seen. But anyone who saw Jose Dariel Abreu’s 475-foot left-center
grand slam at the 2013 World Baseball Classic knows he’ll be able to
clear U.S. Cellular Field’s 400-foot centerfield fence with no problem.
FantasyPros, a leading fantasy baseball site, predicts Abreu will hit
27 homers as a rookie. Not quite as impressive as the 6-5, 240-pound
Thomas’ 40 HRs at the same age, but the White Sox organization would
be more than pleased with power in that 25-30 range. Simply put, the
Sox loves Abreu’s approach to baseball. After all, he is more concerned
with having a quality-at-bat every time, rather than focusing on the
statistical goals. In that aforementioned World Baseball Classic, Abreu hit
.383, with three homers and nine RBI. Shortly thereafter in August 2013,
he defected from Cuba. Once in America, Abreu then signed a six-year,
$68 million deal with Chicago in October. The White Sox franchise loved
his bat, his glove, his attitude and work ethic (he spent the off-season
in Miami getting the White Sox program down). Abreu’s best season
in the Cuban National Series came in 2010-11, when the
right-handed hitter won league MVP honors, hit a Cubanrecord
tying 33 home runs and 93 RBI in only 66 games,
while batting a league-leading .453, with a .597 on-base
percentage and a league-leading .986 slugging percentage.
His critics—and there are a few—wonder if he is too patient.
Too big. Too raw. His fans say you can flip each individual
criticism and turn it into an asset (he draws walks; his frame
is now toned up; he has upside).
AL CENTRAL DIVISION NOTABLES: Nick Castellanos,
Detroit Tigers 3B; Josmil Pinton, Twins C; Jose
Ramirez, Cleveland Indians 2B/SS; Yordano
Ventura, Royals P.
AMERICAN
LEAGUE EAST
Masahiro Tanaka, New York
Yankees Pitcher
Masahiro Tanaka has done nothing but impress his new
team in spring training, with dazzling pitching efforts
that assure the New York Yankees that he is worth the
seven-year, $155 million deal he signed in January 2014.
His penchant for getting swing-and-miss strikes against
established stars in his first two preseason outings showed
the organization that his movement on the ball has been
just as overwhelming for New York as it was with the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, where he led them to
a Japan Series title, going 24-0 (6-0 postseason) with a
league-leading 1.27 ERA. Conservative projections have
Tanaka winning 15 games or so with a three-50-something
Abreu
Tanaka